Water supply to Delhi likely to be fully restored from Feb 22

Updated: Monday, February 22, 2016, 18:37 [IST]

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New Delhi/Chandigarh, Feb 22: Water supply to the national capital from Haryana is expected to be fully restored tomorrow after security forces took over control of the Munak canal and evicted all the Jat protesters from that place.

Top government sources said 35 per cent of the canal, located at 100 km from Delhi in Sonepat of Haryana, has been operationalised today as protesters had damaged the supply line thereby disrupting normal flow of water.

"Repairing work is going on and we hope that by tomorrow it will fully be operationalised with its maximum capacity," a source said.

Sluice gates at Khubru and Gadbidroli, part of the Munak canal, were badly damaged and repair works were going on in full swing, the sources said, adding all protesters who were squatting at the site, were evicted.

Director General of CRPF Prakash Mishra said "part supply" has been restored by security forces from the Munak canal by joint forces led by a CRPF Deputy Inspector General (DIG) who took control of the canal early today at about 4 AM.

The force has also taken control of the Saifabad water plant in Delhi's Narela area, a senior official said. Commanders of the paramilitary supervising Jat protests operations said 12 companies (about 1,200 personnel) of the CRPF and others drawn from the army and paramilitary SSB have been posted for the security of the canal who will also help engineers and labourers to restore it.

A women contingent of Rapid Action Force (RAF) has also been stationed there, they said. They said that the force, which has deployed the largest number of 49 companies among various security forces, has been asked to clear the "lines of communication" like blocked roads and stuck traffic in the state witnessing protests by Jats.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said the situation in Munak canal is "okay now". "As per my information, the place from where the water is diverted is being properly guarded and the army is helping the local administration," he told reporters in Delhi. Haryana's Irrigation Department officials are at the spot and carrying out repairs in Munak canal.

Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has called a state Cabinet meeting to take stock of the situation in the wake of the Jat agitation.

Delhi has been facing water crisis following cut in its supply from Haryana due to the stir, prompting the city government to order closure of all schools today and rationing of water. Haryana DGP Yashpal Singhal had said yesterday that their first priority was to restore Delhi's water supply from Akbarpur Barota point in Sonepat.

Haryana's Additional Chief Secretary (Home) P K Das had said they were facing difficulty in evicting protesters from Munak Canal and had temporarily suspended the effort to evict them as the situation could turn volatile.

However, after BJP announced setting up of a committee to examine the quota demand of the community yesterday, fresh attempts were made to persuade the protesters to vacate the canal area.